… by causing a national security alert.
This device, shown right, is a product of a guerrilla marketing campaign done by Turner Broadcasting to promote some show that I can’t watch because I don’t own a television. It can, however, foul up my evening commute by shutting down half the city of Boston while bomb squads assess a potential threat.
I’m glad to see Boston’s police department responding quickly and efficiently to what could have been a dangerous situation.
CNN reports:
The devices displayed one of the “Mooninites,” outer-space delinquents who make frequent appearances …

… but unlike GoDaddy, there’s nothing all that controversial. If we were going to run an ad for Super Bowl XLI, this video podcast episode would be it. Find out why we didn’t.

High quality: MP4 file
iPod quality: MP4 file
Digg it here: Click to Digg

[youtube”>MP3 filehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG83JB-rOj0[/youtube”>MP3 file

FAP460: What students need to know for filing IRS taxes and the 1040, Latino scholarships, Citigroup and Sears, Laura Hughes
Student Financial Aid News
+ Too many people are paying down their Sears credit cards, much to the dismay of Citigroup Inc.
+ When Citi [ticker: C”>MP3 file purchased the portfolio three years ago, there were $29 billion of outstandings. That has dropped 20%, to $23 billion as of Dec. 31. Citigroup Chief Executive Charles Prince went as far as to say that the Sears portfolio is having a “real drag” on Citi’s …

FAP459: How to get into college with lots of financial aid, $25K scholarship, ISAC, Sallie Mae, Douglas Spotted Eagle
Student Financial Aid News
+ Profits at The First Marblehead Corp. (ticker: FMD) were down 27% for the fourth quarter, compared with the same period a year earlier, partly because of changes to the firm’s securitization schedule.
+ They power our Act Education Loans and private student loans
+ Problems were reported this weekend with both the Medical College Admission Test and the SAT that some students took, The New York Times reported. On some …

FAP458: Audio blog about Massachusetts College Goal Sunday, David McMillin
A very different Financial Aid Podcast today, more like an audio blog than a “show”. I talk about my experiences with Massachusetts College Goal Sunday and the FAFSA form, address some of the shortcomings of the federal aid process, and thank all of my new friends at MASFAA for letting me be a part of the team.
Please get in touch if you met me yesterday!
Podsafe Music
+ David McMillin, Goodbye Southern Skies
+ Music via the Podsafe Music Network
Reminders
+ Private student loans
+ Stafford …

Just a few mad scribblings while I process the events of today. I attended the Massachusetts College Goal Sunday event here in Framingham, and have lots of photos, video, etc. to share from the event, as well as a HUGE number of things to fix on FAFSAonline.com. I really, truly understand why some people hire financial aid consultants, and I’m firmly committed, more than ever, to make FAFSAonline.com the BEST free FAFSA resource site available.
1. The FAFSA school selector is useless. I had to literally bring up our school code …

Are you tired of hate? Tired of partisan stunts, media gimmicks, and pointless banter? Is mainstream media’s incessant sensationalism wearing thin for you?
Try New Media!
Every day, hundreds of thousands of producers create entertainment, news, information, and informed opinion that not only rivals, but exceeds the quality of what you’ll find on the Old Tube.
Take a look in the sidebar here on FinancialAidNews.com. Under section 5, you’ll see some of the new media shows I enjoy. Maybe some of them will resonate with you.
Tonight, make a change. Turn off old media, …

What catches my eye with corporate brands and logos? I really like logos that will fit inside a square. I like logos that are evocative, emotional, clean, smooth, geometric, and don’t need text in order to convey at least some meaning. I also firmly believe that a logo needs to work in black and white, so color should augment the logo’s meaning, but not be a defining part of it.

ASA has a nice logo with the ascending theme.

FirstSource has the ascending and light, too.

Strada’s logo is ascending with a path.

The …

We’re talking in the office about a new logo and brand for the Student Loan Network and Edvisors Network. As you might have heard on Managing the Gray 12/26, to me, brand is about the story you can tell, about the emotions and feelings your brand evokes. To me, having been at this company for 3 1/2 years and employee #3, I feel like I’ve got a pretty good idea of what’s in our brand DNA. Here’s my version of the story so far.
In 1998, our CEO, Joe Cronin, took …

FAP457: Student Debt Relief Act of 2007, Free Stuff Friday, California financial aid, College Goal Sunday, Jen Foster
Student Financial Aid News
+ Thousands of California students in for-profit and vocational schools will keep their financial aid even if state oversight lapses in July, a federal agency has decided.
+ Only a handful of the 400,000 students could be affected by the scheduled closure of the state’s Bureau of Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education, a U.S. Department of Education official said in a letter this week.
+ The statement reversed an assertion by other …